Global CEO reveals life lesson that transformed his leadership style

Mike Serbinis was always destined to be a great entrepreneur. In high school he won the International Science and Engineering Fair, which in turn led to an opportunity to meet the CEO of Intel, sparking a vision for what a career as a tech CEO might look like.

He’s also booked as one of our major speakers at HR Summit Toronto – on November 14th.

Having worked at Zip2, alongside Elon Musk, Serbinis is now founder and CEO of revolutionary health benefits organization League.

“League started three years ago, born from the idea that the future of healthcare would be vastly different,” he told HRD Canada. “We set out to build a platform that would empower people with their health every day and help them live happier lives. Along the road, we discovered the way to do that was to completely re-invent health benefits, making it the central portal through which employees access their health care.”

But health care hasn’t always been his calling. Serbinis has enjoyed a rich and exciting career in all manner of technology start-ups, rubbing shoulders with famed digital guru Elon Musk. And his passion for automation sprang up at a rather early age.

Because, by his own admission, in his youth Serbinis was both the sports enthusiast and the ‘jet-propulsion nerd’.

“I use sports metaphors for a lot of business matters. Just look at the recent World Cup, there were so many inspiring stories that came out of the games. And it’s the same situation at League. My company is a team, one that works hard together in order to enjoy the successes that come after.

“I didn’t know anything about entrepreneurship as a kid. In fact, I only heard the word when a reporter labelled me as one after having built my very first company. This was the beginning of a snowball effect in which I imagined what the future would be like and sought to seek out ways to make it even better.

“The biggest lesson I learned along the way, and one which definitely impacts my leadership style, is allowing yourself to believe in a better future. If you have conviction that something is possible then it’s just a question of whether it’ll be you or someone else who makes it a reality. An individual who can rally a group of people without money, or assets or brands, is something to behold.

“If you have will and conviction, the most important thing it to start and never to stop.”

Mike will be speaking at our upcoming HR Leaders Summit in Toronto, on November 14th.